CineSavant Column
Hello!
This first item was circulated a couple of days ago by Joe Dante, who describes it as genuine nightmare material.
From the Meme Dream Machine, it’s a longform TV advertisement in the style of the 1950s. It’s also said to be AI-generated. Haven’t you always wanted to go to a luxurious theme part, and be chased by large, rather disturbing puppets?
Enter, if you dare . . . .
And correspondent Michael McQuarrie comes through once again with a solid Column link:
And finally, we prompted contributor / advisor Gary Teetzel to formalize a helpful Mini-Disc Review he sent us last week. It’s a way of getting it onto the record here at CineSavant — when we first mentioned the release last May, potential viewers were curious, and we weren’t able to receive an official review copy.
Gary’s mini-review of
Watched the new SRS Blu-ray of Tokuzo Tanaka’s The Whale God (Kujira Gami) last night. Based on a novel by Koichiro Uno, the 1962 film tells the Moby-Dick-like story of an enormous whale that terrorizes generations of whalers in a small Japanese village. The village elder (Takashi Shimura) offers a fortune, his title and the hand of his daughter in marriage to the man who can kill the beast. Shaki (Kôjirô Hongô), whose grandfather, father and brother have all been killed by the whale, decides it is his duty to avenge their deaths, but faces competition from the ruthless, mercenary outsider only interested in the reward, Kishu (Shintarô Katsu). As he waits for the whale to return, Shaki must cope with months of hardship and challenges to his sense of ethics and honor.
The Whale God holds one’s interest, but it’s one of those movies that feels like an awkward condensation of a longer, richer work. Abrupt jumps in time make the narrative choppy, and certain supporting characters are underdeveloped (some of them just vanish from the narrative). Ultimately, it doesn’t really come together, but devoted fans of Japanese cinema will find much to appreciate.
The cast is quite good: Hero Kôjirô Hongô is a familiar face from Daiei films of the period, including three Gamera films, one of the Daimajin films and one of the Yokai Monsters films. Viewers who only know Shintarô Katsu from his role as the heroic Zatoichi from the long-running film series will likely be taken aback by his villainous turn as Kishu. Takashi Shimura, so often cast as an ‘elderly sage,’ also brings a sharp edge to his role as the village elder who is revealed to be arrogant and domineering.
The special effects are effective for the period, mixing a full-size whale prop and miniatures; there are times when the blend is more effective than in John Huston’s Moby Dick, thanks to some judicious editing. The three people credited with effects work don’t have many other credits on the IMDB, and none of them are credited with working on Daiei’s 1960 tokusatsu films.
Akira Ifukube’s score for the most part does not resemble his work in the kaiju field; it leans more toward the sad and mournful side of his work.
The transfer is very good, with good contrast and a sharp image free from any significant damge. Extras are limited to a couple of brief text pieces and numerous trailers for other SRS releases. — Gary
Gary sends along this purchase link for The Whale God, at the SRS Cinema Store.
Thanks Gary. And thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson